The new soccer season is well-underway for both the Buffs and Lady Buffs as both teams started off smoothly in their respective non-conference slate.

The Buffs also kicked off Heartland Conference play by splitting their opening matches at home against eighth-ranked Midwestern State and steamrolling past Oklahoma Christian.

In the win against Oklahoma Christian, the Buffs got behind five different goal scorers in Reece Schattle, Stefan Andjelic, Julio Vargas, Troy Reeves and Rafael Vasconcellos.

In the home opener, the Buffs relied on the defense, shutting down a Midwestern State team that allowed eight shots on target from 13 shots and caught the Mustang attack offside three teams in the attempted upset-bid.

“It was a great game,” men’s assistant coach James Crowder said. “It was like a tennis match, going back and forth. We took [Midwestern State] to overtime, allowed an unfortunate goal. One, you always have to finish your chances. Two, just keep your composure and if you work as a unit and have one goal, you can come back and beat anybody. That’s what we did on Saturday.”

The men saw all of their non-conference list on the road, with wins against Colorado Christian and Colorado State-Pueblo prior to being edged out at Northeastern State.

The Lady Buffs kicked off the new season with a three-game home schedule, topping Adams State and Fort Lewis prior to picking up a draw against New Mexico Highlands with senior forward Marlene van Mourik netting a brace and recording an assist in the opening three games.

“We have a lot of new girls,” said van Mourik. “We are now coming together and working hard.”

The Lady Buffs then struggled on consecutive road trips to Colorado Springs and Weatherford, Okla. were not the best of performances, getting edged out by University of Colorado-Colorado Springs and falling to Southwestern Oklahoma State.

“Monday night in Colorado, we played pretty well, lost 2-1 to a good team,” said women’s assistant coach Kevin Driggs. “Thursday night [was] not so well. I don’t think the program lost as much or to that team ever.”

The Lady Buffs open up Lone Star Conference play on Sept. 22 at the Pitch, hosting Texas Women’s and Texas A&M-Commerce on Sept. 24 before heading to the road for a three-game conference skid at Angelo State, UT Permian Basin and Eastern New Mexico.

The Buffs continue Hearland play at home against Texas A&M-International on Sept. 21 and St. Mary’s on Sept. 23 prior to a six-game road starting at Lubbock Christian on Sept. 28